Surgeon suspended for bank visit during operation
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i cannot comprehend what this surgeon was thinking! what do you think would happen if this was a surgical nurse and s/he "stepped out" for a minute to run to the bank? what do you think his final... Read More

Aug 12, '02

Shameful. I don't believe it was a 'wife' OR GIRL friend though.

Aug 12, '02

Originally posted by reddgott maybe it was pay as you go surgery, you know half now and half in the middle.etc.

LOL! Reminds me of that commercial where a pt was wheeled into what looked like an Er and before they used a defibrillator on him they swiped his bank card!

Seriously, I hope they take away his license!

Aug 12, '02

I'm curious, though. Isn't this a teaching hospital with residents? I know it isn't "legal, ethical, etc.", but it's not uncommon for surgeons in a teaching hospital to run two rooms at once, allowing a resident to "close up". I'm almost willing to bet this kinda thing happens frequently. This guy pissed someone off and they blew the whistle..just mho.

Heck, if it were me he was cutting on, I'd be relieved to know he stepped out and took a break during a 6hr operation. yah, yah, I know..35mins is a bit excessive, but yanno banks just don't offer the speedy service of years past..lol

Aug 13, '02

Yestoday, I saw the news in chinese. I can comprehend Arndt . I think he must be in bedevilment by something that is more important than the patien's life. But any patient does not meet such a doctor.

Aug 13, '02

totally reprehensible and disgusting. what else can i say?

Aug 13, '02

There is no good excuse for what he did. He could have had someone else deposit his check if that was the deal. Bet there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Duh!

Aug 13, '02

Bottom line,,,,, no matter the excuse,,,, He abandoned his patient,,, to the highest degree of the definition,,,,,

Waiting for the post,,,, with news report,,,, that is is the nurses fault!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

License should be shredded,,,,, Can you hear " the bank was only few minutes away,,,,," your patient was left sedated,,,, open with insision ,,,,, staff was left to what,,,, stand and look,,,,, omg!!!!!!!!! ~Moon

Aug 13, '02

Tis amazing....wonder what will happen with him.....he needs to learn about direct deposit.... also maybe it was something other than going to the bank.....maybe some afternoon delight with his other woman.....or maybe he had to pay off the mafia...but what ever the reason he should have his license taken from him and he needs to find a different kind of work......

Aug 13, '02

i saw on the news that the guy who drove this surgeon to the bank was a medical sales rep/vendor who was down in the OR.

now PERHAPS this rep didnt know that a patient was open on the table, but i'll tell you, the more sucking up reps can do, the better for them, so it may not have made any difference anyways. wonder if the rep got any reprimands from HIS company......they probably saw it as a prime opportunity to 'network' with the surgeon and try to sell whatever they have.

boston (ap) - a surgeon whose license was suspended after he left a patient on the operating table while he ran a check to the bank owed large payments to a former domestic partner.

dr. david arndt was ordered after a court battle to pay dr. stephen goldfinger, a psychiatrist, a portion of his income for 15 years after they broke up in 1994, court records show.

arndt challenged the agreement and lost. he was ordered to pay court fees and other costs up to $25,000, and to continue to make support payments up to $500,000 to goldfinger.

according to the state board of medical registration, arndt was six hours into spinal fusion surgery at mount auburn hospital in cambridge on july 10 when he told the operating staff that he needed to "step out." his patient was anesthetized and his back was cut open at the time.

the board said arndt cashed a check at a bank about a mile away, returned about 35 minutes later and completed the operation. arndt later said he was in "a financial crisis" and had to pay overdue bills.

the state board indefinitely suspended arndt's medical license wednesday. hospital officials had reported the matter to the board.

"david has had a checkered personal history and it has rolled over into his professional life," said dr. hyman glick, an orthopedic surgeon at beth israel deaconess medical center who helped train arndt.

arndt's lawyer, claudia hunter, said arndt would appeal the suspension. she called him "a competent and skilled orthopedic surgeon," adding he regretted his actions.

court records say that arndt, 41, and goldfinger met in 1983 and began living together. goldfinger, 10 years older and more established in his profession, paid many of arndt's expenses while he studied to be a doctor, the records say.

the boston herald reported that the medical board already was considering disciplining arndt over a 1998 misdemeanor conviction in louisiana for filing a false statement to help a friend with immigration problems.

s_bsn

Aug 13, '02

Originally posted by sjoe Guess he needs to set up direct deposit!

:chuckle

Aug 13, '02

"Dr. David Arndt was ordered after a court battle to pay Dr. Stephen Goldfinger, a psychiatrist, a portion of his income for 15 years after they broke up in 1994, court records show. "

I also read in a Boston area paper that this Dr. also falsified immigration papers for his lover to stay in the country.

sounds like his first sugar daddy was not so sweet.. But smart.:

Court records say that Arndt, 41, and Goldfinger met in 1983 and began living together. Goldfinger, 10 years older and more established in his profession, paid many of Arndt's expenses while he studied to be a doctor, the records say.